Why yes, I do. I even own two of them. One is made by a company named "Kymco", and the other is made by an outfit DBA "Genuine Scooter Co." They are simple, efficient and practical machines - and yet, I still take them seriously. I don't know, but I suspect the fellow who owns the dealership which sold them - and a few hundred others - takes them seriously too. I take it it you feel differently. Why is that I wonder?

Are they so different than other vehicles with two wheels and a motor? Granted, my experience is limited to the 35 years or so that I've been riding, but they are operated basically the same and need follow the same rules of use on public streets do they not?

While you might have determined your own notions of a moto pecking order, I very much doubt the bulk of the non-riding public considers the differences between a moped, cruiser, vintage scooter, plastic scooter, super sport, sport touring, dual sport, Euro classic, cafe, rat UJM rat, concours UJM, dirt bike, thumper, 45 deg v-twin, 90 deg v-twin, opposed twin, parallel twin, in-line four, v-four, in-line six, opposed six or v-six when they see some Rollie Free wannabe attempting to prove Darwin right. Heck, I have a pretty intimate knowledge of each and I see far more similarities between types than I do differences. THEY simply see another self-centered bozo playing the clown on the road while bozo's buddys document his stupidity 'cause it's soooo cooooool.

Motorists will continue to think of "motorcycles" (broad terms here) as silly toys, irrelevant and unworthy of their respect as long as they see silly behavior being displayed by "motorcyclists".

Yeah, why get so bent out of shape to write a long diatribe on the interwebs just because some idiot in some other country decided to risk his life in a stupid way. How does that reflect on you personally. The fact that the idiot got said moped up to those speeds is the cool thing, not the moronic thing he did with it. Taking something that is supposed to go 20 mph and making it go 80 mph is the cool thing.